By 1976, Valvo had essentially dropped out of tournament chess and his rating was no longer published in the USCF rating lists, until Bill Goichberg and Jose Cuchi invited him to a futurity tournament. Valvo did well, earning a rating of 2440. However, Professor Arpad Elo refused to award Valvo the rating he had earned, because Elo had never heard of Valvo and suspected that the tournament had been rigged. This matter was debated at the 1978 FIDE Congress in Buenos Aires and FIDE voted to give Valvo his 2440 rating. Valvo quickly proved that he really was a 2440 strength player and earned the International Master title.
Valvo never played in the U.S. Chess Championship, but he was to make his mark in computer chess, which became his primary focus. At every World Computer Chess Championship from the early 1980s until his death, Valvo was the organizer, moderator, commentator or acted in some official capacity. He also played a two-game play by email match against Deep Thought, winning both games.
